Discuss

Well good morning! I hope your Friday is off to a great start. We woke up to rain this morning and, since I don't have to be anywhere today, I'm planning to hunker down with a book and my knitting and act like a real Seattlite while Dann's at work. We're down to eleven weeks (!!) until baby's official due date, so we've been trying to take advantage of the still, quiet moments we have the luxury of enjoying right now. Here are some of my favorite things from The Internet lately - just for you. Enjoy! 

The only bummer about this is that we have to wait until March 31st for the rest.

This guy.

In case you've been having trouble getting your bowels moving lately, check this out.

This looks like a LOT of fun.

I'm hoping to see this over the weekend.

If this doesn't make you smile, you're probably dead inside.

Lately, From The Library

After starting a collection of short stories that included one about a mom trying to make sense of her daughter's eating disorder and then one about a woman who intentionally tried to cause herself to miscarry, I decided to take a brief hiatus from borrowing library books and read some of the books I bought in the last year. Amy Poehler's Yes Please was fantastic, Divergent was not, and I just finished Poking A Dead Frog by Mike Sacks, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then I got really inspired by all of the "Best of 2014" and "Coming in 2015" book lists and decided it was time to start requesting some exciting books from the library again.

While I wait for some of the newer books to become available, however, I decided to revisit some that I didn't have a chance to finish (or start, let's be honest) when I checked them out the first time. Cooked and My Sister's Hand In Mine have both appeared in my stack of books previously, so I'm hoping I'll have time to finish both before they're due back. And I LOVED Shauna Niequist's Bread & Wine so much when I read it last year that I've decided I need to read everything else she's written/will write. I started with The Invention of Wings because it can't be renewed, even though it's a large print edition. Sue Monk Kidd is a popular lady.

One of the goals I set for myself when we found out I'm pregnant is to finish reading 20 books before baby boy is born. Think I can do it? So far I'm at eight, not counting the bits and pieces of pregnancy/parenting books I've been compelled to read. Fingers crossed.

Have you read any good books lately? Tell me!

Discuss

Hey friends. Happy Friday to ya. It is foggy as all get out here this morning, but we had a good three days of sun earlier this week, so I'm not complaining. I drove to Pike Place Market one day just so I could buy more Ellenos yogurt. I may have a problem. Anyway, Dann and I are flying back to Denver again tonight because my mom and sisters are throwing us a co-ed baby shower this weekend! I'm excited to see everyone, but already feeling a little bit sad that this will be our last trip back before we become parents. I'm hoping for one last date in Denver while we're there. Anyway, here are some of my favorite things from The Internet lately - just for you. Enjoy! 

Let's all burn the candles, shall we?

This is insane.

Which do you think sounds more terrifying? Stealth assessment or inspections?

This is hilarious.

"My son is not some mythical creature that broke my stony heart wide open." I really appreciate this perspective, even as I prepare to become a mom.

This lady gives away a new desktop calendar every month. I think they're lovely.

Blankets For The Babies

It’s been just over two years since I started learning to knit.

My sister Amy learned from her friend and former roommate Gillian, and when we were in Philly for 12 days of Thanksgiving in 2012 Amy helped me pick out my first set of needles and some good yarn. (Said needles and yarn were in a bag with some library books that was later stolen from the band van while we were at the City Museum in St. Louis. I still enjoy imagining the thief opening that bag and deciding to turn over a new leaf, learning to knit and reading Cutting For Stone.)

There’s something soothing about the act of knitting. It’s repetitive and fairly simple, but requires precise attention to detail. I’ve found it to be a great way to pass time on an airplane. Distracting, yet productive. 

So in early 2013, when I found out my brother’s wife and my sister were both pregnant with their first babies and not planning to find out before their births whether the babies were boys or girls, I decided I would find a good gender neutral knit blanket pattern and make a blanket for each baby before they were born. The one other knitting project I’d completed up to that point was a square-shaped dishrag, so maybe my goal wasn't entirely realistic.

I found this pattern from Purl Soho, and got right to work. And almost a year later, I finished the first blanket. I gave that first blanket to baby Vera, mostly because her mama helped me figure out how to make it and the whole time I was working on it I talked about it as Vera’s blanket. She seemed to like it.

By the time I was ready to start on baby Jay’s blanket, I knew he was a boy and a Broncos fan. It took me about half as much time to finish this one - partly because I was familiar with the stitches and the pattern, and partly because I was determined to send it off in time for his first birthday. 

It’s crazy to me that this little dude is already one, and that miss V will be one next week.

I can’t wait for our little buddy to meet them both! I started work on his blanket last week and I’m confident I’ll be able to finish it before he arrives. I went with the Sky colorway for this one, mostly because it makes me think of the sea, which has loomed large in my mind throughout this pregnancy.

Maybe it’s foolish and overly ambitious, but I kind of like the idea of turning this into a tradition - making a blanket for each new baby born into our family. I like imagining myself as "Tía Jenny, who knits blankets for the babies".